How to Identify and Motivate Disengaged or Unmotivated Team Members.

​ Let’s be honest by the time we identify disengaged or unmotivated team members the damage has likely already been done to either performance, productivity, or engagement, the job hunt is likely already gathering speed and it’s only a matter of time before the resignation letter lands on your desk. This leaves you with a hole in your team, putting more pressure on you to recruit someone else and get them up to speed. It also puts pressure on your team to cover the work and keep service levels high.

So, how can we identify disengaged and unmotivated team members before they’re tempted to start looking at our competitors' employment offerings? If we’re being honest, it always hurts most when we lose our team members, who we’ve invested our time, effort and knowledge into, to our competitors.

What is the difference between disengaged and unmotivated employees?

Unmotivated employees are somewhat content in their role, but primarily see work as a means to an end – making money. They likely have a passive or positive attitude and carry out their duties without a murmur. However, they are unlikely to take on extra responsibility or contemplate their long-term career with you.

However, disengaged employees are both unhappy and unmotivated at work.

There are a multitude of reasons why employees can feel disengaged. There are typical things that can disengage most employees, but sometimes it is specific to that person as to what disengages them.

Here are a few typical things that can disengage employees:

• Feeling like they don’t matter;

• Feeling others are more important;

• Feeling bored or not challenged;

• Other people's behaviours being unchecked;

• Feeling micromanaged;

• Blame culture;

• Fear of making mistakes;

• Feeling invisible;

• The way they are spoken to;

• Feeling others put more importance on their needs

The list can go on and on. We can’t assume that just because we haven’t seen any of the typical reasons they're not disengaged.

How to spot the signs?

Spotting unmotivated employees can be the first sign that we need to act before they become unmotivated or the next stage - disengage. The first signs of an unmotivated employee can go under the radar, so being attuned to changes in their typical behaviour is key. Some signs to look out for are:

• Lack/change of punctuality;

• Change in mood towards colleagues;

• Increase absence from work;

• Lack of focus;

• Distancing themselves from colleagues;

• Inappropriate or negative comments;

• Lack/change of input in meetings;

• Increasing reluctance to take on more responsibility than the ‘bare minimum’

Changes in these behaviours can also be a sign of something else we need to support and deal with, including domestic abuse or mental health challenges. We must be attuned to changes in behaviours and having open safe space conversations at an early stage. This is about more than the duty of care we have for our employees. It’s about building strong, trusting, supportive relationships.

What do we need to do?

All routes lead back to communication and early action. By having an early conversation with the employee and sharing the reason as to why you are concerned in a safe and caring manner you are more likely to get them to open up. Only then can you understand the challenge and consider ways to remotivate and engage them.

Don’t be afraid to start the conversation, you don’t have to have all the answers. Let them know you have heard what they have to say and then be honest – thanks for sharing how you feel, let me go away and consider everything you’ve said and I’ll come back to you. Manage their expectations in terms of when you will come back to them. Never promise that anything will change, your main aim in that initial conversation is listening to their point of view and making sure they feel heard.

Make sure you always follow up, you’ll undo all your work and further disengage them if you leave it at that initial conversation. If it’s something that can’t be changed make sure they feel heard, and explain why things can’t change. Employees are typically more frustrated with not feeling heard and not understanding decisions than the decision itself.